The former Clinch River Breeder Reactor site in Oak Ridge may become the home for four small modular nuclear reactors that could be operational by 2022.

The Department of Energy announced this week an award to “support a new project to design, license and help commercialize small nuclear reactors in the United States.” The award was given to Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Bechtel.

“TVA is preparing an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to license up to four B&W mPower SMRs (small modular reactors) at its Clinch River Site,” Charlotte, N.C.-based B&W announced in another news release. The site, formerly called the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Site, is off Highway 58 near the Horizon Center, formerly called the K-25 Site, and is adjacent to the Clinch River.

“The Obama Administration continues to believe that low-carbon nuclear energy has an important role to play in America’s energy future,” DOE Secretary Steven Chu stated. “Restarting the nation’s nuclear industry and advancing small modular reactor technologies will help create new jobs and export opportunities for American workers and businesses, and ensure we continue to take an all-of-the-above approach to American energy production.”

It’s five-year cost-share agreement and DOE will invest up to half of the total project cost, with the partners matching this investment by at least one-to-one. The specific total of the award will be negotiated between DOE and B&W, according to the release.

Small modular reactors are approximately one-third the size of current nuclear power plants and have compact, scalable designs. The reactors can be made in factories and transported to the site, where they would be ready to “plug and play,” which is expected to reduce both capital costs and construction times. The smaller size also makes these reactors ideal for small electric grids and for locations that cannot support large reactors.

The project will support additional suppliers and operations in Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

B&W formed the mPower America project team with TVA and Bechtel to pursue an award under this program. The mPower America team and its members currently have nearly 400 employees working on the development and licensing of the B&W mPower SMR.

B&W subsidiaries have executed 150 agreements with suppliers in 36 states to support the B&W mPower program. “Once in the deployment stage, the mPower America project will create a significant number of new jobs at B&W manufacturing facilities and supplier facilities,” according to the company.

“The B&W mPower SMR is designed to provide 180 megawatts of carbon-free electricity. It is based on advanced integral pressurized water reactor technology which incorporates robust, passive safety protection systems within a fully underground containment structure,” the release stated.

Page 2 of 2 - The DOE investment is expected to help B&W obtain Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing and achieve commercial operations by 2022. TVA is preparing the application.